The third ingredient is oatmeal, a whole-grain product made from coarsely ground oats. Oatmeal is naturally rich in B-vitamins, dietary fiber and can be (depending upon its level of purity) gluten-free.

The fourth ingredient is barley. Barley is a starchy carbohydrate supplying fiber and other healthy nutrients. However, aside from its energy content, this cereal grain is of only modest nutritional value to a dog.

The fifth ingredient is ground brown rice, another name for rice flour. Ground rice is made from either white or brown rice and is considered a gluten-free substitute for wheat flour.

The sixth ingredient is chicken fat. Chicken fat is obtained from rendering chicken, a process similar to making soup in which the fat itself is skimmed from the surface of the liquid.

Chicken fat is high in linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid essential for life. Although it doesn’t sound very appetizing, chicken fat is actually a quality ingredient.

The seventh ingredient is rye flour, a finely-ground product obtained by milling rye. Rye is a cereal grain nutritionally similar to barley.

The eighth ingredient is potato. Potatoes can be considered a gluten-free source of digestible carbohydrates. Yet with the exception of perhaps their caloric content, potatoes are of only modest nutritional value to a dog.

The ninth ingredient is sweet potato. Sweet potatoes are a gluten-free source of complex carbohydrates in a dog food. They are naturally rich in dietary fiber and beta carotene.

From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.

But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of this product.

With five notable exceptions…

First, canola oil can be a controversial item. That’s because some worry that canola oil is made from rapeseed, a genetically modified (GMO) raw material.

Next, tomato pomace is a controversial ingredient, a by-product remaining after processing tomatoes into juice, soup and ketchup.

Many praise tomato pomace for its high fiber and nutrient content, while others scorn it as an inexpensive pet food filler.

Just the same, there’s probably not enough tomato pomace here to make much of a difference.

In addition, flaxseed is one of the best plant sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Provided they’ve first been ground into a meal, flax seeds are also rich in soluble fiber.

However, flaxseed contains about 19% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

Next, we note the inclusion of dried fermentation products in this recipe. Fermentation products are typically added to provide enzymes to aid the animal with digestion.

And lastly, this food also contains chelated minerals, minerals that have been chemically attached to protein. This makes them easier to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually found in better dog foods.

A Final Word

The descriptions and analyses expressed in this and every article on this website represent the views and opinions of the author.

The Dog Food Advisor does not test dog food products.

We rely almost entirely on the integrity of the information posted by each company on its website. As such, the accuracy of every review is directly dependent upon the quality of the test results from any specific batch of food a company chooses to publish.

Although it's our goal to ensure all the information on this website is correct, we cannot guarantee its completeness or its accuracy; nor can we commit to ensuring all the material is kept up-to-date on a daily basis.

Each review is offered in good faith and has been designed to help you make a more informed decision when buying dog food.

However, due to the biological uniqueness of every animal, none of our ratings are intended to suggest feeding a particular product will result in a specific dietary response or health benefit for your pet.

I’ve also have had no issues with Earthborn grain free and have fed it as part of my rotation for several years. I also sometimes use the tubs as a topper.

Crazy4cats

Hee Hee, naughty girl! Yeah, I think most people are more likely to post a review when they have an issue with a product than when they are happy with one. Whether it be dog food or a refrigerator! Good looking dog. Thank you for the positive review!

Laya R White

I’m seeing so many bad reviews and it would scare me if I wasn’t already on it. I’m feeding my dog primitive natural and she’s been doing great. Loads of energy, fur glowing and shiny, her eyes looking brighter. She’s just been doing so well. I’ve been feeding her this for nearly a year now and I think this is good if you know you can’t afford to feed raw and need a good substitute. They also offer treats that are good and though my dog broke into them and ate them all, she got no bellyache fortunately.

Debbie

UPDATE: I had originally posted this to another Earthborn flavor page here on dogfoodadvisor and several other people have had the same problem, all starting upon opening new bags. I have all my bags and am composing a letter with all the facts and batch #’s, dates, etc. If anyone else has had a problem and would like to share any of their info with me please let me know here or email me at [email protected]. I am seeking batch #’s to match against mine. This problem involved 2 different flavors so it has to be more than 1 bad batch and could involve any of their flavors.

Debbie

Wondering if anyone has had issues around the beginning of 2015 or after? Coastal Catch or Great Plains? I wanted to transition my 2 German Shepherds from Coastal Catch to Great Plains Bison. They seemed to have allergies that cause itching so before the snow melted here in MA I wanted to do the switch to see if it was the food or seasonal allergies. They had been on Pacific Coast for at least 6 mos and doing well but didn’t want them to get bored with it either. They had both been on Earthborn for 2+ years. I didn’t have enough of the Fish to do the full transition with both dogs so bought a new bag of Fish and a new bag of Bison. Both dogs had been eating up to 6 cups/day, thriving well. As soon as I opened the 2 new bags, neither dog would eat it. Cold turkey, one day eating great, next day wouldn’t eat the food at all. I tried putting water in it, raw egg, then yogurt. Usually that would kick start them but not this time. They were still very hungry they would eat the egg off the bottom of their dish, around the food, but not the dog food. When I put yogurt in with it, they were licking the yogurt off the food but again, not eating the food. Thougth their stomachs were upset from the flavor transition so added pumpkin and they would would eat a little here and there after at least a day of no food and being starving. A few times they vomited shortly after eating. I thought they were just being picky. I SO regret making them eat it. My oldest GS just turned 8 and never sick a day in his life, lost a significant amount of weight. Took him to the vet and got a different vet than our own vet and she ran xrays, but no blood work or urine, contrary to what I thought she should do. (His urine was very concentrated looking). Xrays were fine, she told me if it continued to come back in a few weeks. Two weeks later he was still losing weight and occasional vomiting, I added canned food (another brand) to the Earthborn dry. They started eating again and my older dog started gaining again so I didn’t take him back to the vet. During this time of them eating those 2 new bags, I noticed that both my dogs had very runny eyes, thick yellow eye discharge. I just thought it was maybe allergies and didn’t think much of it. After 1 wk of adding the canned food, my older dog was gaining and seemed to be doing good. The younger one never lost much weight. At about 2-1/2 wks I noticed my dog had stopped gaining weight. Each day I noticed he was losing weight again despite eating plenty. 2 wks after that he was so thin again! I noticed on a Wed morning (4/29) that he seemed a little off balance and disoriented. Wed afternoon I came home and he was staggering, head was tilted, eye lid drooping and not able to focus and falling. I took him to the vet 1st thing Thurs morn and his blood was yellow so they did rush testing and all his levels, especially liver, were off the charts! I rushed him to Boston’s Angell Memorial Hospital (one of the best in the country) and spent $5000 over 4 days. His liver was so badly damaged that they couldn’t save him. Neither vet thought it was the food but they didn’t experience what I did for those 2 mos.

While my older dog was in the hospital I had bought another new bag and my younger dog went back to eating the Earthborn without the canned. He ate good for about a week and all of a sudden he won’t touch the Earthborn again. I am not making him eat it. After a few days of him turning down the food I put down 2 dry foods each feeding, the Earthborn and another brand and let him pick. He chose the other brand hands down every time. I am not here to bad mouth Earthborn, I have praised and recommended this food to many until this happened. I just want to know what killed my very healthy dog and see if anyone has had similar experiences? If not, then I have to accept it wasn’t food related but I just can’t go back to that day they stopped eating it. I have had my younger dog tested and his levels are all excellent.

Susan

There must be an ingredient that ur Pitbull & Maltese has a allergic reaction with the inflamed paws. My boy gets the red swollen paws too, I tried a new kibble the other week & it kept happening when I was slowely adding the new kibble, the only ingredient that I think it was from was the Rye.. Just start writing down ingredients then you mite start to see a pattern with the same ingredient…there’s alot of peas in the Great Plains Feast ( Bison formula) peas, pea protein & pea fiber

Katrina Kueny

So I have had really bad experiences with the Earthborn Bison formula. First with my pug, who this food wasn’t originally for, ate this food and every time he has ate this he’s puked. He didn’t eat it very frequently so we just put that together once we started noticing our Pitbull have a horrible reaction also. Her nose was turning burnt red looking and her paws were inflamed. Our smaller Maltese was also biting his paws and having hot spots. I am taking them off this food IMMEDIATELY and putting them on taste of the wild!

Lisa Simon

I fed Earthborn Holistic Coastal Catch for about a year with no problems. Then I tried a different flavor – the one with the wolf on the bag. My 13 year old terrier got stomach issues and died a week later. She had Cushings for two years and I was afraid the protein was too much for her system. I was feeling terribly guilty for trying a different food with her but then my chihuahua also began having stomach issues. I dumped out the bag of food and discovered it had really nasty bugs in it. I haven’t used it since and don’t plan on going back to this brand of food. No I did not call the manufacturer. I had lost my German Shepherd to hemangiosarcoma in January and the loss of my terrier in March left me without much energy to deal with this the way I should have.

john sparacino

It was Petfoodgirect.com. My biggest issue was that Earthborn Plant manager admitted fault,but didn’t follow through with his promise to take care of it for me. I do agree the vendor sucks as well. Won’t be buying anymore Earthborn products or any products from this vendor

Melissaandcrew

Please state where you bought it from, No one wants to be in your position and that vendor customer service sucks.

Betsy Greer

It couldn’t have been chewy.com that it was purchased from. They would’ve taken care of it immediately. Not that that helps even remotely.

john sparacino

It was a online purchase

neezerfan

I agree with losul.

losul

John, IMO, no matter who’s fault it is, it’s also the vendor’s issue because they sold it to you. They should give your money back and then THEY can argue with the manufacturer. I don’t see how the vendor can just wash their hands of the matter, that vendor wouldn’t be anyone I would want to deal with again…. Was it an online purchase?

john sparacino

I did and they said they stored it properly that it was a manufacturer issue

losul

Did you try taking the matter up with the vendor-whoever sold it to you?

I agree, $3 off coupons is not a satisfactory solution.

john sparacino

I bought a bag of rancid dog food from Earthborn. Spoke with customer service and no apologies no attempt to make things right. They gave me the plant managers phone number and told me to give him a call. Talked to the manager Mike and he apologized and promised to send me a replacement bag. Seven days later I received a couple of $3 off per bag coupons. Called Mike again and he said it would be taken care of. Seven more days passed I get five $3 off coupons (one per visit a far cry from the $50 I spent on rancid food). Since then more time has passed without any results. Talked to Mike via text and he basically said he helped me the best way he could and sorry if I was disappointed.Making me promises that he doesn’t fulfill really doesn’t sound like someone helping you the best way they know how. I totally understand that problems occur in the production of dog food, but how you handle a problem is the measure of a good company and in my eyes this was handled very poorly!

John P.S. The food was Earthborn Coastal Catch and my dog’s stomach still isn’t right.

theBCnut

YIKES!! Reactions like your dane is having are very dangerous, because from one feeding to the next they can be fatal. Make sure your dane does not get even one more bite of that bag of food. I would call the company and let them know. Not that I think it will do any good, but if there is a problem, there has to be a first report.

doggievangogh

My last bag of grain free bison seems to be causing 2 of my dogs to have some weird reactions. The dane is clearly having an allergic reaction as her eyes have swollen and also the leather of her ears. The toy poodle is chewing on her feet like crazy! This only happens when there have been grains introduced to them. I’m NOT happy right now. Looks like going back to raw is it for me. This was just nice to have as a back up for the dog sitter.

theBCnut

If you read down through other posts, you would see that several people have written about this lately.

sandary

I have been mixing different bags of the earth born grain free together like coastal catch & meadow fest etc in the last few months my 6 year old golden has gotten a lot of loose stools I am thinking it might be the food and am thinking of changing has anyone else seen this problem

Christina Dubuque

Have been to vet with several of my large dogs on this food with great weight loss digestive issues etc .I need to switch vet states it is this food.

Christina Dubuque

Yes same issues my dogs have loose diarrhea now so frustrating. I am changing foods soon.

Guest-1111

Awesome, thanks so much for all of the suggestions! After they adjust to the kibble transition, I’m going to bring some raw into the rotation & see how it goes.

Guest-1111

Thanks for the input. My dogs eat too much to go raw completely (financially anyway), so after they adjust to the new kibble, I’m going to try to bring some raw into the rotation & see how it goes.

Guest-1111

Glad to hear your dogs are getting better! I emailed the company also, but have received no response. Sad really.

jan

yes, my 4 dogs were all on coastal catch for a couple of years. just recently , last 6 months , my dogs were having intestinal issues and losing weight. I tried resolving this isssue but 3 of my dogs lost too much weight and it was only getting worse. we found no other reason for the weight loss. my vet ran test on one of the dogs and found nothing. I can only assume it was the dog food. I even contacted the company , they claimed there has been no change in the recipe of coastal catch. I finally had to change dog food, and My dogs have gained the weight back. We also noted a difference in the kibble shape and size. Like I said I really like there product until this happened.

Beth Knuth

I have done raw, Darwin’ delivered right to your door, for breakfast and then kibble at night for awhile. Lately, Butch, pit mix has done a little puke burping at night after kibble, I do rotate and change, I try to get grain free kibble, but this time I did get a NutriSource brand grain inclusive type. I think that was the main problem. So the last three days I have done all Darwin’s raw, no puking at all, and already Butch smells sweet, his fur actually smells sweet. It is amazing about raw, I don’t know if I can afford this total raw with Darwin’s but we will see. Just an idea from me, good luck to you!

InkedMarie

Yes, lots do kibble and raw, myself included (in the past). My brittany has a raw meal once or twice a week. Feeding any raw is fantastic, sure does not defeat the purpose!

Guest-1111

Thank you for the suggestion!

Guest-1111

I think I would probably have to do ground also, don’t know if I could handle watching them eat whole parts, natural or not. I’ll have to do some more research on the raw diet with regards to portioning & balancing. Have you heard of anyone doing both raw & kibble? For example, feeding kibble in the morning & raw in the evening? Was wondering if that would defeat the purpose. My finicky one gets ear infections, but I suspect she has environmental allergies that are causing them. They didn’t start until recently when we moved to the south & only act up when it thaws outside. So she’s on daily allergy meds currently, not ideal, but they help.

Crazy4cats

Hi Guest- Sorry, you are having trouble with the Earthborn food. I wanted to let you know that Victor has two fish recipes. One with grain and one without. I’ve been using the grain free beef with great results. I plan on trying the Yukon salmon formula next. Just thought you might want to check it out if the Canidae does not work out. Good luck!

InkedMarie

we’ll just start over

My husband is not into prey model raw so I buy ground. Not cheap but I got tired of vet visits and meds for his ears. My holistic vet prefers no veggies for him for now so I buy from Hare-Today.com

I was going to try the Canidae Sea for Boone, he had been on Natural Balance sweet potato & fish and doing fine. Had a phone conference with my holistic vet, Pure Sea was the choice of foods. Two days later, bam, another infection. Decided to go to raw.

Guest-1111

I would love to try the raw diet with mine, it’s unfortunately too time consuming & costly for me at the moment, some day! Friends that have their dogs on it absolutely love it. I’ve heard good things about California Naturals for dogs with allergies, but hesitate because they’ve been part of so many recalls lately. The Canidae Pure Sea looks like it would work for my girl based on the ingredients. I think I’m going to grab a bag, start the transition & see how it works. Hopefully my other finicky girl will eat it. Thank you for the suggestion, and I do apologize for getting defensive so quickly. A bit out of character for me, but I won’t bother you with all of the excuses.

InkedMarie

:::passing peace pipe::::

I understand about going through dog food. My allergy boy had no ear infections for seven years, then bang, last april, they came back and didn’t stop. I have given away the equilivent of 4 big bags of dog food in the last year. Six weeks ago, I put him on ground raw as it seems to be the only thing that works. I adopted a toothless dog last January, she ended up with 2 back to back UTI’s and needed two enemas for constipation. She was also underweight. Now she’s on Canidae Pure Sea with a little Pure Sky canned, they’re the only thing that works. My other gal can eat anything, thank god.

You’re right about EB, I don’t feed it but used to. I’m not a troll, just commented.

Hope you grasp the peace pipe.

Guest-1111

Well when you go through dog food as fast as i do & combine all of this with a stressful interstate move, it’s not always easy to pinpoint the cause of such things. It’s only since life has calmed down a bit that I was able to identify it. Since you have not commented on the actual question, I assume you do not use this type of food & just troll the comments section?

InkedMarie

I have a dog with allergies too but I can tell you that if I bought 7 or 8 bags of food and my dog(s) had digestive upsets AND the dog appearance varied, I would have stopped after the second or third bag. I’m sorry you felt criticized but thats an awful lot of bags to buy with the same issues.

Guest-1111

Because it took me a while to realize it was not a coincidence. Because previous to this, they had been on the food for about 2 years with no trouble. Because I have a dog with severe allergies and this is the only reasonably priced food I have found that works for her. Do you want me to go on? I posted on here asking for input, not criticism, thanks.

InkedMarie

Why have you continued to feed a food that has been inconsistent over 7-8 bags of food when your dogs have had digestive upsets? That just makes no sense.

Guest-1111

Has anyone else had trouble with the consistency of their food from bag to bag lately? The kibble in the last 7-8 bags of Coastal Catch I’ve purchased has varied greatly between the bags, and each time I open a new bag, my dogs have digestive issues. Just wondering if anyone else has noticed this, and trying to determine if it’s time to switch to a food I can trust to be consistent between bags.

Msams0975

I actually just bought a bag of ocean fusion for my springer mix this morning. I mixed it with the small amount of orijen regional red she had left. I am going on a stricter budget and had to find a cheaper food that I felt she could handle. She had it for dinner tonight, loved it and seems completely satisfied. Her tummy is sensitive but so far it’s agreeing with her. I would recommend it, even though I don’t normally like grain-inclusive foods.

InkedMarie

You can unsub still the bottom of this page. Unclick the green subscribe

LabsRawesome

Whatever.

Susan

Unsubscribe!

LabsRawesome

Did you think you were the only Susan in the world? If you are worried about people confusing your posts for another Susan’s posts, make your name more unique. Add your last initial, the name of your dog, or something else. You could also add an Avatar. Gravatar.com

Susan

Appears to be two posters as Susan. I did not post this..

susan

Has anyone tried the Ocean fusion?? when I read the ingredients they were limited ingredients & no garlic, mite be better for sensitive tummys…also fat was only 12% fat,, Has anyone tried..

Cate

I try to stay with 5 star foods and rotate for a healthy gut.

jo

My dog has been on blue grain free for 2 1/2. Years…never see bits of cat food in it..however we are gtti g new pup nd someone suggested earthborn…..does dog food come in tiny morsels for pup and dogs

Just as an FYI and to beware. I used to give my dogs those little marrow bones that I got at the butcher. One of these bones cracked and lodged on his jaw. He wouldn’t let me work to get it off and he was getting anxious and could not drink water. So I had to take him to the vet and they sedated him and sawed it off. That little bone cost me $35 in the end and a very scared dog and nervous dog mom. So from then on I bought the knuckle bones instead.

Susan

I read the ingredients for this food. I am not impressed other than it has no grains or potatoes